| Family Focus - Talking About My Generation | |
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| Closing the gap in managing four generations of women in the workplace at the same time. |
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By: Seema Nayyar, Photo: Peter Lamastro
| Linda Leonard of Bristol Myers-Squibb with Rachel, 9, and Nathan, 5.
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Today, four generations of women converge in the workplace for the
first time. Companies are scrambling to meet their divergent needs as
they rethink how we can all work together.
General Mills hosted a conference for its female sales team last
November, it was full of fun and games. Literally. In addition to
seminars and speakers, the food products manufacturer rolled out a
board game called "Leading Through the Generations" to teach employees
about the distinct work and communication styles of coworkers. Leaders
in the sales division's training group invented the game to open up a
dialogue among staffers of different ages. "The game helped me
under-stand how to motivate the individuals I work with," says Shari
Sauer, 43, a national accounts manager for General Mills, who attended
the forum. "As a manager, I learned it's okay for people to have
different methods for getting a job done. It's important to be open and
flexible, and let employees accomplish their tasks using their own
framework."
General Mills isn't alone in concocting creative ways to energize and
connect its employees. Today, the U.S. workplace boasts four different
generations of women. While this diversity is a source of strength for
women in the workplace, it's also creating new challenges around the
conference room table. Older bosses, for example, who are used to
certain ways of working, are sometimes uncomfortable with younger
employ-ees who demand greater autonomy and flexibility. Recognizing the
need to manage these diverse perspectives, Working Mother 100 Best
Companies like General Mills are leading the charge to mesh the varied
work and communication styles of all four generations. The reason: As
the war for skills-based workers heats up over the next few years,
firms with a greater understanding of their employees will have a
critical edge in attracting new recruits and retaining experienced
executives.
"This is a business imperative," says Annette Merritt Cummings, vice
president and national director of diversity services for Bernard Hodes
Group, a New York City recruitment communications company.
"Organizations are trying to get a handle on how they can minimize
conflict and foster teamwork, and how they can begin to plan the
transition in management from one generation to the next. We're
increasingly seeing more interest in this among employers."
Indeed, forward-thinking companies such as the 100 Best are at the
vanguard of managing this change.
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